redid this vid. only 15 sec.
Am I string hopping?
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Hi! Thanks for posting. The shortest answer with any “how is my motion” questions is really the practical one, i.e. a feeling of smoothness and no tension at a speed that’s “fast” for you. If so, then you’re probably good. If not, and you’re experiencing a hard speed limit that’s lower than you know you can move in other basic everday type activities, and tension buildup while you do that, then something may be off. Whether that something is technically “stringhopping” or some other source of inefficiency we can quibble, which is why I’m giving you the longer answer here. But again, what matters is that you can do what you’re trying to do with none of the aforementioned negatives.
As you test this, I would avoid phrases like the one you’re doing here, which involve legato notes and little jumping motions to get over the string, only because those aren’t really the motions you’re asking about. You’re most concerned with the core motion, so the simplest thing to do is just to play a single string phrase — even just a single note on a single fret will do. You can also try a multi-string phrase that’s completely picked, but only contains string changes that match the motion you’re using. For example, if you’re making a downstroke escape motion, then you’d test that with a phrase that’s completely picked and only contains downstroke string changes.
Give that a shot and let us know!
great. using more picked notes to test picking makes sense. I’ll work up something else and post video.
thank you!